UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of
the self from various disciplinal perspectives;
2. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape
the self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across
the different disciplines and perspectives; and
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the
development of one's self and identity by developing a theory of the
self.
 REVIEW
• Meaning and nature of philosophy
• Different philosophers and their
philosophies in understanding the self
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. St. Augustine of Hippo
4. Rene Descartes
5. John Locke
6. David Hume
 ACTIVITY 1
Directions: Answer the following
philosophical questions.
Use your critical thinking to
justify your statement.
 1.
Do guns protect people or
kill people?
 2.
Is there life after death?
 3.
Where does a thought go when
it's forgotten?
 4.
Can a person be happy if they have
never experienced sadness?
 5.
Do you shape your own destiny or
does everything happen by fate?
 PART 1
The Self from Various Perspectives

Lesson 1
From the Perspective of
Philosophy 2
 PROFILE
●German philosopher that is
known for his works on
empiricism and rationalism.
●Lived all his life in the town
of Konisberg in East Prussia
(presently Western Russia).
●He stayed away from the
church but he was deeply
spiritual.
● His studies on Asian
philosophies had a strong
influence on him but it was
the French philosopher
Rousseau that made him
realized and enabled him to
formulate his philosophical
ideas.
 CONTRIBUTIONS
● The founder of German
Idealism in which his
philosophy was awakened
and motivated by David
Hume.
●Wrote three books: Critique
of Pure Reason, Critique of
Practical Reason and
Critique of Judgment (Price,
2000)
PHILOSOPHY
● Mind is not just a passive
receiver of sense experience but
rather actively participates in
knowing the objects it
experiences.
●Instead of the mind
conforming to the world, it is
the external world that
conforms to the mind.
●Knowledge is the result of
human understanding applied
to sense experience.
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
● When the self sees an object, it ● All objects of knowledge,
tends to remember its
characteristics and applies on it,
the forms of time and space.
Therefore,
a self must exist or there could
be no memory or knowledge.
●Transcendental apperception –
the experience of the self and its
unity with objects.
which includes the self, are
phenomenal; that the true
nature of things is altogether
unknown and unknowable
(Price, 2000).
OTHERS:
●In the matter of God, Kant
stated that the kingdom of God
is within man; that God
manifested in people’s lives
therefore, it is man’s duty to
move towards perfection.
 PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS
• Austrian Psychologist and ● Freud’s then revolutionary
physician. ideas of the probable
●Father of Psychoanalysis factors that determine
●One of the most influential human behavior pave the
way for science to look into
people of the twentieth
the workings of the
century and his enduring unconscious mind.
legacy has influenced not only ● Conceptualized the 3 levels
psychology, but art, literature of consciousness that
and even the way people provides an idea how a
bring up their children. person develops a sense of
self.
PHILOSOPHY
●Topography of the mind
(an illustration of an iceberg
to show how the mind works
based on his theorizing. The
tip of the iceberg represents
the conscious awareness
which characterizes the
person as he deals with his
external world.
● The person’s observable
behavior, however, is further
controlled by the workings of
his unconscious/subconscious
mind.
● Hysteria –these are
manifestations of hidden
and unexpressed
(repressed) thoughts and
memories that control the
person’s consciousness.
 PHILOSOPHY
3 Aspects of Personality
1. Id – the structure that is
primarily based on the
pleasure principle.
2. Ego – the structure that is
based on the reality
principle. It mediates
between the impulses of id
and the restraints of
superego.
3. Superego – primarily
dependent on learning the
difference between right and
wrong. Morality of the
action is largely dependent
on childhood upbringing
(reward and punishment)
 LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

1. Conscious – where minority of our memories are being

stored and the memories that are in the conscious is easier
to be tapped or access
2. Preconscious – the middle part of the entirety of our
consciousness; the memories stored in this area can still be
accessed but with a little difficulty.
3. Unconscious – this area is where a majority of our
memories since childhood are deeply stored. It is very
difficult to tap the memories and it would need
professionals in order to make some memories resurface.
FREUD’S VIEW OF HUMAN MIND: MENTAL ICEBERG
 PHILOSOPHY
Kinds of Instinct
1. Eros – life instinct (the
energy of eros is called
libido); these includes urges
necessary for individual and
species survival like thirst,
hunger and sex.
2. Thanatos – the case where
man’s behavior is directed
towards destruction in the
form of aggression and
violence.
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
●Man is a product of his past
lodged or experiences and
that our actions are driven
by the idea of resisting or
avoiding pain, and are
molded from our need for
pleasure or being happy.
PROFILE
●British Philosopher whose
ideas contradicted Cartesian
Dualism of Descartes.
● Used behavioristic approach
to self
(self is the behavior presented by
the person.
• Was a 20th Century
philosopher, mainly
associated with the Ordinary
Language
Philosophy movement.
● He had an enormous
influence on the
development of 20th
Century Analytic
Philosophy, particularly in
the areas of Philosophy of
the Mind and Philosophy of
Language.
 CONTRIBUTIONS
●Ryle stigmatized the mind
as the “Ghost in the
Machine” (man is a complex
machine with different
functioning parts, and the
intelligence, and other
characteristics or behavior
of man is represented by the
ghost in the machine.
PHILOSOPHY
●Once we encounter others,
their perceptions of what we
do, how we act, and the way
we behave will then result to
the understanding of other
people and establishing of
who we are.
VIEW OF HUMAN
NATURE

●Freewill was invented to ●He agreed with Kant

answer the question of who stated that freewill
whether an action deserves involves a moral
praise or blame. responsibility which
further assumes that
man’s actions must be
moral for it to be free.
 PROFILE
●Paul was a Canadian philosopher
who was interested in the modern
scientific inquiry.
Patricia is a Canadian-American
analytic philosopher noted for her
contributions to neurophilosophy
and the philosophy of mind.
●Their focus is on the idea that
people should improve our
association and use of worth in
identifying the self; the self is defined philosophy of the mind (the issue
by the movement of our brain.
CONTRIBUTIONS
●Applied modern scientific
inquiry through the use of
NEUROPHILOSOPHY.
●Philosophy of the neuroscience –
the study of the philosophy of the
mind, the philosophy of science,
neuroscience and psychology. It
aims to explore the relevance of
neuroscientific
experiments/studies to the
of brain-mind is the central of this
study).
 PHILOSOPHY
●●Patricia claims that man’s ●Human nature is complicated. Man
brain is responsible for the
identity known as the self
and the biochemical
properties of the brain is
really responsible for man’s
thoughts, feelings and
behavior.
VIEW OF HUMAN
is endowed with more than just
physical or neurological
characteristics. Despite research
findings, neurophilosophy states that
the self is real, that it’s a tool that
helps the person tune-in to the
realities of the brain and the extant
reality.
●What and who the person is
(ex. how he makes decisions, controls
impulses and how he sees himself is
largely determined by his neurons,
hormones and overall genetic
make-up.
 PROFILE
●Maurice Jean Jacques
Merleau-Ponty was a French
phenomenological philosopher,
strongly influenced by Edmund
Husserl and Martin Heidegger.
The constitution of meaning in
human experience was his main
interest and he wrote on
perception, art, politics, religion,
psychology, psychoanalysis,
language, nature, and history.
CONTRIBUTIONS
●Merleau-Ponty was a pivotal
figure in twentieth century French
philosophy. He was responsible
for bringing the phenomenological
methods of the German
philosophers - Husserl and
Heidegger - to France and
instigated a new wave of interest
in this approach. His influence
extended well beyond the
boundaries of philosophy and can
be seen in theories of politics,
psychology, art and language.
 PHILOSOPHY
●At the center of his philosophy is
the emphasis placed on the
human body as the primary site
of knowing the world.
● Self-regarded that the body
and mind are not separate entities
but rather those two components
are one and the same
VIEW OF HUMAN
●The world and the sense of self
are emergent phenomena in the
on-going process of man’s
becoming..
●The world is a field of
perception, and human
consciousness assigns meaning to
the world.
●perception is not purely the
result of sensations nor it is purely
interpretation. Rather
consciousness is the process that
includes sensing as well as
interpreting/reasoning.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Socrates Idealist and Socratic ■Knowledge is
Rationalist the
personification of
good while
ignorance is that
of evil.
■Self-knowledge
is the ultimate
virtue. As the
ultimate virtue, it
will lead to
ultimate
happiness.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Plato Idealist and Dualism and ■Moral virtue is
Rationalist Idealism rooted in the
intellect and
leads to
happiness.
■Wisdom and
knowledge lead
to virtue which
will lead to
happiness.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
St. Augustine Platonism Neoplatonism ■All knowledge
leads to God.
■Only the pure
in heart can see
God.
■Love of God,
faith in Him, and
understanding of
his Gospel will
ultimately lead to
happiness.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Descartes Rationalist Mind-body ■”I think,
Dualism therefore, I am.”
■The mind and
soul can exist
without the body.
■Establishing the
distinction of soul
from the body can
make the people
believe in the
afterlife and the
soul’s
immortality.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Locke Empiricist Theory of ■It is in
Personal Identity consciousness
alone that identity
exists, not in the
body and soul.
■There is a
distinction
between man and
person.
■The soul may
change, but
consciousness
remains intact.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Hume Empiricist Skeptical ■All knowledge
passes through
the senses.
■Separate ideas
can be joined in
the mind.
■There is no self,
only a bundle of
perceptions.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Kant Rationalist and Metaphysics of ■Reason is the final
Empiricist the Self authority of
morality.
■There is the inner
and outer self.
■The inner self
includes rational
reasoning and
psychological state.
■The outer self
includes the body
and physical mind,
where
representation
occurs.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Freud Romanticism and Psychoanalytic ■The personality as
Existentialism composed of a
conscious mind, a
preconscious mind
and an unconscious
mind.
■humans are
primarily driven by
sexual and
aggressive instincts.
■The unconscious
mind governs
behavior to a greater
degree than people
suspect.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Ryle Empiricist The Concept of ■”I act, therefore, I
Mind am.”
■The mind is not
the seat of self.
■It is not a separate,
parallel thing to our
physical body.
■The mind is a
category mistake,
brought about by
habitual use. The
only way it can
affect the other is
through the external
world.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Churchland Empiricist Neurophilosophy ■A fully matured
neuroscience will
eliminate the
need for beliefs
since “they are
not real.”
■The physical
brain gives us a
sense of self.
 SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER ORIENTATION PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION
Merleau-Ponty Existentialist and Phenomenology of ■Both empiricism
Empiricist Perception and intellectualism
are flawed in
nature.
■We are our bodies.
■Our bodily
experiences do not
detach the
subject/object,
mind/body,
rational/irrational
 ACTIVITY 2
How Do I See Myself?
Directions: For each statement, indicate whether you
AGREE or DISAGREE.
1. My life choices are based on what I have actually experienced.
2. My views about the world are dependent on what I have actually
witnessed.
3. I am likely to buy a brand that I have already used, and not based on
referrals.
4. I would rather remain in my comfort zone than try something new.
5. Most of the time, I make choices based on the present rather than the
future.
6. I am likely to hold on to what I have now, even if there is a greater option
in the future.
7. For me happiness is tangible.
 SCORING KEY

If majority of your answers is “agree”, then you are an

EMPIRICIST.

If majority of your answers is “disagree”, then you are a

RATIONALIST.

Source: Macayan, and Co., 2018. Understanding the Self, C and E publishing, Inc
End of Philosophy
2